So You’ve Hit a Jackpot, What Next?

Heading into any casino, the thought has to cross just about everyone’s mind. What actually happens when you hit it big at a casino? Jackpot hits are few and far between however, there are standard protocols that go into effect when a jackpot is won. Sometimes the jackpots are low and even in these cases, the protocols are not skipped over for any reason. In Las Vegas, if you happen to win on the Megabucks slot game, you’re more than likely walking out of the casino as the world’s newest millionaire however you will have to jump through some hoops before having those funds deposited anywhere with your access.

Casinos are tightly run and players might not know this but if the casino staff needed to, they could create an entire timeline of your day at the casino from start to finish. There are security cameras as well as staff throughout the casino which are programmed to make sure that all players are having fun, but fairly. When someone starts winning at the casino, they will be watched closely for the tell-tale signs of cheating.

If you’ve won a jackpot quickly or off of just a few spins, this is a great place to be. The casino hasn’t had it’s eyes on you for very long and have no reason to suspect that maybe you entered the casino to rip them off. Once the bells start to go off and the machine starts to flash, you’ll have casino staff coming over to assist you with your prize. Now, bear in mind that each casino has different protocols that they follow when it comes to players and their jackpots. But as a reference point, here’s a look at how things might go.

Casino Staff
Once you’ve won the prize, casino staff members will come to greet you. This may be the floor manager, the pit boss or other gaming attendants. They will check the machine to be sure that it didn’t malfunction and that you were playing fair and square. If you have a very large win, more than likely you will be greeted by staff members who are higher up in the company’s heirarchy.

Getting Paid
Once your win has been deemed legitimate, the managers will head over to the cage cashier to have your winnings retrieved. Again, if you’ve won a huge jackpot, you probably won’t receive those winnings right on the gaming floor, you would head to an office and talk with the staff there about the taxes and other information that goes along with winning a jackpot. If your jackpot happens to hit in the middle of the night when the appropriate staff members aren’t available, you might as well hang out for a bit, maybe test your luck on a few other games because having the appropriate employees come into work might take awhile.

Sometimes The Process is Lengthy
This is an unfortunate side effect of winning a big jackpot. In some cases, the winnings will take days to be verified. This is due to the fact that some of the games don’t allow casino officials to pay out on their machines or after a certain amount. In these cases, the casino staff will need to obtain clearance to pay out from the game by the maker of the machine. The company will process their own verification check on their end to be sure that the game wasn’t tampered with and that the winnings are valid.

Choosing Your Winnings
Every time a player is paid out from a casino, they have different options available as far as how they’ll be paid. Players can choose between either taking an immediate payout via chips or slot machine tickets. When it comes to winning via a slot machine in the sum of more than $3,000 you won’t have the ticket option or chip option available anymore. Also, for players who enjoy the casino and know that they will be back, they can leave the money with the casino and use it in the form of draws when they return.

Overall, winning a jackpot is quite an amazing feeling and for the most part the outcome is good. Sometimes there are issues with being paid out where players will not receive the winnings they thought they were going to be handed due to a system malfunction or other issue on the casino’s end. These instances are rare but it pays to be coherent and alert when something like this does happen in a casino.

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